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Crazy Like Us By Simon Ethan Watters. & Schuster. 2010. US$12.99 (pb). 320 pp. ISBN: 9781416587194
The idea that Western psychiatry has imperialistically exported its syndromes is well established in anthropological discourse. Among psychiatrists the notion remains controversial, as many hold the view that culture may shape psychiatric disease presentation, but underlying disorders remain the same.
This provocative book by journalist Ethan Watters is an exploration of the anthropological viewpoint, arguing that alongside the globalisation of American culture there has also been an Americanisation, often through the influence of DSM–IV, of the understanding and treatment...